Adolescent Mental Health Initiative book series

The Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands created its Adolescent Mental Health Initiative to synthesize and disseminate scientific research on the prevention and treatment of mental disorders in adolescents. The Initiative creates books for scholars and the public on topics including depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, schizophrenia and suicide prevention.

As a teenager, DeQuincy Lezine nearly ended his own life, believing it was the only way to escape his overwhelming emotional pain. Instead, he was able to find expert psychiatric care, and went on to found the first university campus chapter of the Suicide Prevention Action Network USA. Now a researcher at the University of Rochester’s Center for the Study and Prevention of Suicide, Lezine has devoted his life to preventing suicide in adolescents, and he brings his experience to bear in Eight Stories Up. READ MORE

For the millions of Americans with obsessive-compulsive disorder, the intrusive thoughts and uncontrollable behaviors can take a harsh toll. Diagnosed with OCD at age 11, Jared Douglas Kant became ruled by dread of deadly germs and diseases, the unrelenting need to count and check things, and a persistent, nagging doubt that overshadowed his life. In The Thought that Counts, Jared shares his account of trial, tribulation, and triumph. READ MORE

Kyle Keegan was like many teenagers: eager to fit in at school, he experimented with alcohol and drugs. Soon, his abuse of these substances surpassed experimentation and became a ruthless addiction to heroin that nearly destroyed his life. Now in recovery, Keegan tells his remarkable story in Chasing the High. READ MORE

During his second semester at college, Kurt Snyder became convinced that he was about to discover a fabulously important mathematical principle. In time, his thoughts took a darker turn, and he became preoccupied with the idea that cars were following him, or that strangers wanted to harm him. Kurt’s mind had been hijacked by schizophrenia. In Me, Myself, and Them, Kurt, now an adult, looks back from the vantage point of recovery and describes the debilitating changes in thoughts and perceptions that took hold of his life during his teens and twenties.READ MORE

More than simple cases of dieting gone awry, eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia are among the most fatal of mental illnesses. Carrie Arnold developed anorexia as an adolescent and nearly lost her life to the disease. In Next to Nothing, she tells the story of her descent into anorexia, and of how she was able to seek help and recover. Now an adult, Arnold uses her own experiences to offer practical advice and guidance to young adults who have recently been diagnosed with an eating disorder, or who are at risk for developing one. READ MORE

For the 15 million Americans with social anxiety disorder, the fear of being scrutinized and criticized can reach disabling proportions. Such was the case for Emily Ford, who shares her firsthand experiences in these pages. Her true story of fear, struggle, and ultimate triumph is sure to resonate with other socially anxious teenagers and young adults. Emily’s story is coupled with the latest medical and scientific information about the causes, diagnosis, treatment, and self-management of social anxiety disorder.READ MORE